A Rude Awakening
by mocha81
Summary: Sam and Austin just got together but before heading to Princeton, Shelby tels Austin she's pregnant. What will happen once they're at Princeton? Find out here.
1. Finding Each Other

Author's note: Starts with a scene from the movie but then changes to this story line.

Chapter 1: Finding Each Other

The Fighting Frogs just scored a touch down and won the game. The crowd immediately stood up. Half of the bleachers went wild cheering for the Fighting Frogs and the other half just sat in silence. The drought just ended as the rain started pouring down on the hundreds of people at the game.

Sam Montgomery and Austin Ames were in the bleachers kissing one another. Shelby Cummings was just looking at them. Why her? She asked herself all upset and confused all at the same time. The other cheerleaders didn't pay attention. They were jumping up and down and cheering for their school's team that won the football game.

"So I see you did want to see me again after the Halloween homecoming dance." Said Sam with a smile.

"I did say absolutely then, didn't I?" He said smiling and making a confused look on purpose.

"Yes. I couldn't be happier right now."

"Me too." Austin replied as he grabbed her hand and brought her down the stairs of the bleachers.

"Austin!" Shelby shouted. "Don't go!" She said with a desperate don't leave me look. "Don't do this Austin!" She shouted. She just stood there with a mixture of being shocked and sad at the same time. She just couldn't understand how he'd go for a diner girl when he had her, a beautiful, blonde cheerleader.

They ran out of the football field and made their way through the parking lot. He looked around the parking lot for a few seconds.

"Over here." He said anxious to get away from everyone but Sam.

They headed towards his truck by jogging their way there.

Sam and Austin finally got to his nice black truck. Austin was a gentleman and went to the left side and opened her door and stepped back. He grabbed her hand to help her get into the truck.

"Thank you." She said.

" Your welcome." He closed the door and danced his way to the other side of the vehicle. He opened the door and got in.

"Where do you want to go?" Sam asked him with a look saying, what do we do now?

"Well I better go home and take a shower and change clothes." He said. "Then it's up to you."

"Well I'm not sure."

"Well I'm hungry. How about that burger?"

"What burger?" She asked playfully.

"You know. The questions I was asking… You said a burger. So lets go have one."

"Sure. Sounds great."

"I know exactly where to get the perfect burger." He said with a smile.

"Oh yeah? Where's that?"

"Your diner, silly."


	2. The Call

It took Sam and Austin a while to get to the diner since the football game has just ended. It was very popular at their school. Whenever there was a sport's game at their school, it made headlines in the paper the next day. They got into the diner and Austin walked her to one of his usual diner booths when Sam kept on walking.

She turned around and said, "What do you want?"

"Let's sit down first."

"But I can get it much faster myself."

"Please sit down, Sam, take a break this time. Your here with me, not to work."

"Okay." She said and walked back over to Austin as he got her to sit down and scoot over for him to sit right next to her.

They waited a few minutes. None of the waitresses came by.

"Maybe I should go get us the food. It will be quicker." Sam insisted.

"No it's okay, I don't mind waiting."

Another long pause.

"So why didn't you---"Austin started talking as Ronda came by and cut him off in mid sentence.

"Hi Sam."

"Hi Rhonda."

"Can I get anything for the both of you?"

They ordered what they wanted and Austin then continued his question.

"So why didn't you tell me you were Cinderella?"

"You know when you were here and you sat down on the stools for coffee." She started.

"Yeah." He said.

"Well I was going to tell you until my stepmother came in. I was going to say, Austin, I'm Cinderella. But then she turned around and said Sam after I said I'm."

"Okay but why didn't you tell me after that, like at school or anytime even before that?"

"I guess I got scared. Your so popular and I'm... not." After she said that and looked down at her hands that were one in one on the table.

"Sam, I get that you were scared. I'm just glad I finally know who is princetongirl818."

"I'm glad I know who nomad is too."

"Are you glad it's me though?"

"Yes. Definitely. And you? Are you glad it's me?"

Austin paused for a few seconds then finally said. "Definitely!" He then leaned in and kissed her.

Once dinner was done, Austin brought Sam home. He kissed her in the truck and then went home.

As he got home his dad was very angry with him. Asking why he did such a thing just leaving the game and going to see Sam. He just couldn't believe what Austin has done. They yelled at each other and got angry. Austin went up to his room and stayed there the rest of the night.

As he got to his room, he went directly to the computer to talk to Sam some more. As he logged in to his instant messaging program, the phone rang.

"Hello?" Austin asked.

"Austin it's me." Shelby said with worry in her voice.

"Shelby?"

"I need to see you right now. It's important."

"I can't right now. I'll talk to you tomorrow okay?" He said.

"Austin, I'm serious. I got some news."

"What kind of news?"

"News I have to tell you to your face." She said more nervous and worried as she could sound.

"It'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"Meet me at the mall in the food court at noon."

"See you then." He said and hung up. _What could it possibly be._ He thought.


	3. The news

Shelby and her best friends, Madison and Caitlin were sitting on the front porch at Shelby's house. It was only nine thirty in the morning but Shelby couldn't wait to see Austin and tell him the news.

"How do you think he will react to the news you have for him?" Asked Madison. She was really interested in this plot to keep Austin with Shelby.

"I don't know but he better not leave me." Said Shelby. She was determined to keep Austin to herself. She wouldn't let a diner girl steal her man away from her.

"When are you meeting up with him?" Caitlin said. "We can take you to the mall if you want."

"Yeah that sounds good. We can go shopping for our summer fashion." Madison continued. "I definitely need a new bathing suit."

"It's at noon. Come up to my room to help me pick out an outfit. One that Austin should like." Said Shelby as she got up and went into the house.

In her bedroom, Shelby held up a few outfits to her body and waited to see what her friends thought of it. _I just have to get him back._ She thought. _Sam will not take him away from me no matter what._

It was now a quarter to noon and Austin was waiting for Shelby at one of the many tables in the large food court. Shelby walked over to him and sat down as close to him as possible.

"Hey, Austin, how's it going?" Shelby said, starting the conversation.

"Hi, Shelby. So what did you want to tell me?"

"Well first how about a kiss?"

"Shelby, we're over. You know very well that I'm with Sam. My life is with her now."

"Not for long." She said under her breath.

"What did you say?" He asked as he leaned in closer.

"I said not for long." Then she paused for a few seconds. " Look Austin, you can't go away to Princeton with her."

"Why not?" He said as he moved away from her but still sitting down at the same table.

"Well because… Austin…"

"What!" He said pretty loud. A few people around them stopped eating and looked over at them. Then he leaned in closer to Shelby. "Because what?" He said softly.

"Because, Austin, I'm pregnant." She said and made sure to look at his reaction.

"What? But how? I mean, I know how but it was only once a few weeks ago!" He said loudly and held his head with both hands.

"I know. Look Austin," She reached out her hand and put it on his shoulder. "This is what I mean. You can't leave to go to Princeton. We're going to have a family."

"I have to go." Austin got up and left the food court. He walked away pretty fast and got into his truck and just drove away. He was driving for a long time. It was about an hour and a half later as he got a phone call. He looked at his phone to see the caller id. It was Sam. He pulled up to the side of the road and then answered the phone.

"Hey." He answered.

"Hey, where are you?" She asked.

"I'm out of town. I just felt like going for a drive."

"Oh ok."

"What's up?" He asked.

"Nothing. I was just hoping to go watch a movie with you tonight."

"Well by the time I get there it would be late. How about tomorrow?"

"Okay. I'll see you then. Sweet dreams." She said.

"Good night, Sam."

They hung up and Austin looked down to his steering wheel and let his emotions out.

A few moments later, he got back on the road and started driving towards the nearest motel. There weren't many cars on the road. Austin's eyes were wet and as he took his sleeve to wipe his eyes, he lost control of the road and crashed into an oncoming truck.


	4. Stranded

It was really early in the morning. It was even still dark outside. Austin just woke up in his truck in the pit along side the road. His truck was sideways and his head was resting on the cracked window on the passenger's side. Surprisingly the truck was still in not too bad shape. Except for the front which was caved in pretty good.

"Where am I?" He asked himself confused and held his head. It ached in pain. He opened the door and got out slowly as his entire body was hurting from the crash just a few hours ago. He looked all around him. He was in the middle of nowhere and he saw the other vehicle in the pit just in front of his truck. The vehicles hit each other badly and at a high speed that they both went off the road and far in the pit. His truck was far enough from the road. The other vehicles that were on the highway wouldn't be able to see them.

Austin approached the other vehicle cautiously. The vehicle was on all four wheels but there was someone still inside with a lot of blood on the window.

"Oh my goodness! What happened to me...and him?" He was in shock. He could remember him and Sam talking on the phone but that was it. He didn't remember what they were talking about but at least he remembered something. From that moment on however, he couldn't remember anything.

Austin went and opened the door to the other vehicle and the bloody body fell out. It was obvious the older male was dead. He screamed and ran up to the highway and waved his hands to get someone's attention.

"Help! Please help me!" He yelled. He couldn't stop. There were no cars on the highway but he didn't care. He needed some help from someone.

He heard his phone ring from his truck. He ran back to get it.

"Sam?" Austin really needed to hear a familiar voice. "Sam is that you?"

"No Austin, it's me, Shelby. Have you thought about the news I told you?"

"Shelby, that's all I've been thinking about."

"How about you come over and we talk about it. You just left yesterday."

"I can't, Shelby."

"Why not. Austin, Sam shouldn't need to know. It's about you and me now and our baby too. You have a responsibility now."

"I know Shelby but I can't right now because I'm stranded on the side of the road. I got in an accident."

Shelby just sat on her fuzzy pink chair in silence clenching the phone.

"Does Sam know?" She asked.

"Not yet. Shelby I have to go. I need to get help from someone."

"Tell me where you are, I'll get help on the way for you." She offered. He then told her the way making sure it was clear and that she understood what he was telling her very well.

"Okay now just hurry... and Shelby..."

"Yes, Austin."

"Can you tell Sam for me. Please." She sat there in silence for a few seconds.

"Sure. Anything for you Austin."

"Thanks."

"See you soon."

Austin walked towards the highway and just sat there.

Meanwhile, back in the Valley, Shelby got in her car and started to drive to meet up with Austin. She had to stop at a red light. On the lane right to the left of her was Sam. They both had the top down on their cars.

"Hey, Sam." Shelby said with a smirk on her face.

"Hey, Shelby." Sam didn't want to talk to her but did anyways.

"How are things with Austin?"

"None of your business." Sam said firmly.

"It must have been awfully lonely last night. You all alone."

"What's your point, Shelby." Sam asked annoyed.

"Well you seem calm. I definitely wouldn't be considering Austin's news."

"Shelby, many girls get pregnant and the guy leaves with another girl."

"Not that. Austin being in an accident."

"What!" Sam shouted.

"Oh. I thought Austin would have told you. He told me about it."

The traffic light turned green and Shelby took off right away. Sam paused and the people behind her were honking their horn. She then started to drive too. Following Shelby.

Shelby and then Sam arrived at the scene. Shelby got out and walked over towards Austin to give him a hug. Sam watched in the background. _I knew this relationship was too good to be true._ She thought. _But I'm not going down without a fight._

Sam then got out of her car and headed towards Austin as well. Austin let go of Shelby and walked over to give Sam a hug. Even bigger then the one given to Shelby. Shelby just starred at Sam with an evil look.

"Shelby, can you call 911. There's another guy there. He's dead." Asked Austin.

"Can you, Sam, here." Shelby handed over her phone to Sam. "Me and Austin have a kid to talk about."

"Not now, Shelby." Said Austin. He took the phone out of Sam hand and called 911 himself. Thankfully even though they were nowhere near a town, the phone lines were surprisingly working.


	5. The Truth

The next day everything was back to normal. Austin went and got some stitches on his forehead but other then that everything was fine. He was still with Sam but all his time spent with her, he was thinking about the news Shelby had told him two days ago. That she was pregnant.

Austin was at Sam's house. They were sitting in the backyard. It was really nice outside. It was only the middle of July. They were planning on leaving for Princeton in August. That was only two and a half weeks away. Time was flying by real fast.

"Austin, don't you find it odd how all of a sudden Shelby is pregnant. I mean, wouldn't she have told you right at the beginning?"

"She said she just found out." He said in her defense.

"Yeah but it takes up to 6 days for implantation to occur and can take a few days for fertilization to occur as well." Sam was really confused. She was also very suspicious of Shelby.

"Yeah well we did it a few weeks before we met, Sam."

"It still doesn't sound right to me."

"Can we talk about something else?"

"Sure, sorry. What did you want to do?"

"Want to go swimming?" He suggested.

"Sure. Sounds great."

They drove up to the nearest beach. It was around twenty minutes from the Valley. Sam went to the nearest bathroom as they got there. She was in one of the stalls when Shelby, Madison and Caitlin walked in. They were near the sinks and mirrors.

"So what's next, Shelby?" Asked Caitlin.

"Well the plan is going great. Austin actually believes me."

Sam over heard the girls and immediately took out her cell phone and put the video on and made it look through a crack in the stall's door for proof for Austin.

"How will you prove your pregnant though? I mean your not, so how will you make a fake belly?" Asked Caitlin again.

"Pillows." Said Madison as both girls laughed.

"Whatever it takes girls, whatever it takes. I will not let that little boyfriend stealer take him away from me." Shelby said confident her plan will work.


	6. The Confrontation

Sam waited in the stall until Shelby, Madison and Caitlin left. She looked over the video she made. Everything recorded perfectly. She got out of the stall and put her cell phone in her shorts pocket. She walked up to the sink and washed her hands and then walked out. She headed towards Austin who was sitting on his towel near the beach.

"There you are." He said and then stood up.

"Hey, you will not believe what I just heard." Sam said then took out her phone and handed it to Austin. "Take a look."

Austin took the phone and pressed play. "What is this?" He asked.

"Keep watching." She insisted.

After the video was over he just stood there.

"What the hell is this, Sam."

"I overheard Shelby and her friends in the bathroom. I thought you should hear."

"But this can't be true."

"It is. You saw it. You saw them in it. I couldn't just make that up."

"Right." He stood there in silence. He was confused but more pissed off at Shelby._ How could she do this to me?_ He asked himself.

Shelby waved at them as she walked by strutting her stuff. Austin got up and walked over to her. Sam just waited by the towels. She could see him angry with Shelby. They were arguing about what Sam had recorded.

"It's not true what she said. I am pregnant, Austin."

"Shelby, your in the video. She couldn't just have made this up. I thought you were way better then that."

"I am. She's the one who makes me look this way. Sam's out to get me."

Sam walked over and added. "No Shelby, your doing it all to yourself."

Austin looked at them, handed the phone back to Sam and left her there.


	7. We were meant to be

Austin couldn't believe what he just saw. How could Shelby do this to him. All this was a huge lie. Telling him she was pregnant which resulted in Austin's accident. Then finding out it was a lie. It was too much for Austin to handle.

Sam went looking for Austin all over town. It was getting pretty dark outside by this time. She ended up driving up to the school and finding him in the middle of the football field. He was sitting there his arms on his legs with his head down.

"Austin." She said. He looked up with sadness in his face.

"Please just leave me alone." He looked back down towards the ground.

"Austin, please." She said, putting her hand on his shoulder and she kneeled down next to him.

" I just had to tell you the truth." She continued, in her defense.

"And I thank you for that but these last few days have been really dramatic for me."

They sat there in silence for a long time. Austin was shutting Sam out with all the emotions just stuck inside of him.

"You really wanted a kid, didn't you." She asked. Kind of disappointed for him.

"I don't know. I mean. Someday yeah. It would be great. I know I'm not ready for one now but the thought of having one and then it not being true all along. It hurts, Sam, it hurts."

"I'm sorry it turned out this way then."

"Yeah me too but in a way. I'm happy I'm not going to have a kid with Shelby." He said looking right into Sam's eyes.

" If I'm going to have a kid. Sam, I want it to be with you."

Sam just sat there shocked. "With me?" She sort of chuckled. "We just met."

"In person yeah, but we knew each other longer, more deeply online." He paused and looked up at Sam freaking out silently.

"Look Sam, I don't mean right now. We're still going to Princeton right?"

"You still want to go with me?" She asked.

"Yeah of course. Sam, I love you." He leaned in for a kiss. He kissed her passionately.

"I love you too."

They both lied down on the short cut grass. Sam laid her head on Austin's chest and cuddled to him. They looked right up at the sky. The stars were shining brightly and so was the moon.

Austin and Sam went to college together but left the baby plans out of it and just enjoyed each other's company. Maybe later after college, if they were still together they would start a family.

As for Shelby, she ended up going to college too but didn't make it into Princeton. Her Austin days are over.


	8. Packing

MONTHS LATER...

The sun was slowly disappearing over the horizon of the valley. The sky was a beautiful pink and beige color. It was going to be a nice hot day tomorrow. Samantha Montgomery was at home packing up her things for the big move. Her and Austin Ames were going to Princeton together. They were dreaming about this day for what seemed to them as forever.

After Shelby Cummings got caught in a lie, saying she was pregnant with Austin's baby, Sam was more then happy to be moving miles and miles away from her. That was a part of her life she couldn't wait to forget.

Sam was packing the last bit of her clothes when she heard a knock on her door. She dropped the t-shirts she had in her hands and ran to the door to find Austin standing there.

"Hey! I'm so glad your here!" Sam shouted joyfully.

"Me too. I missed you." Austin said, then leaned in to give her a kiss.

"I missed you too."

Sam grabbed Austin's hand and leaded him to the couch where they sat close to one another.

"Are you ready for tomorrow." Austin asked while putting his arm around her and brushed her hair out of her face.

"Yes, I have most of it packed. Are you?"

"Yes. Everything is already in the truck." He said. "Do you want me to put some of your things in the truck right now?"

"No. Lets just do that tomorrow morning. Right now I just want to sit with you." Sam said and wrapped her arms around Austin.

They put on the television and watched a movie and cuddled all night before the long drive to Princeton.


	9. Saying Goodbye

Austin woke up to Sam sleeping on his shoulder while they were still on the couch. They fell asleep next to each other during the movie. Austin looked down as her and smiled and let out a small sigh feeling happy about him and Sam's relationship. He really did love her although they have never told each other that before. They simply told each other they liked each other very much. They wanted to wait until they truly meant it. Sam woke up a few moments later and smiled at Austin.

"Morning." Said Austin, as he kissed her on the forehead.

"Good morning." Sam said and then waited a few seconds before asking, "Were you watching me sleep."

"Yeah. You look so good when your asleep."

"And when I'm awake?" She asked in a serious yet joking manor.

"You look even better." He said quickly.

"Right." Sam said sarcastically and laughing.

Sam liked that about Austin. She can always joke with him yet be serious when the time needed serious.

"So are you ready to move today?" She asked him.

"Yes, are you?"

"Yes. I can't wait! This will be a great adventure in our lives." Sam said.

They got up and washed up before packing the rest of Sam's belonging into the moving truck. About an hour later they were well on their way but first, they had to make a short stop.

Their first stop was at a beautiful house that seemed too much familiar to Sam. She walked up the door, let out a sigh of relief and rang the doorbell. A few minutes later a young man answered the door.

"Sam!" He shouted happily.

"Carter!" Sam shouted as well.

"I thought you were already gone." Carter pointed out.

"I couldn't leave without saying good bye." She said. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too." Carter replied and they both hugged for what seemed like forever.

"Please call and write to me okay. We have to stay in touch." He then added.

"Yes for sure."

"And good luck with Austin," He added. "I really hope you two do well together."

"Thanks Carter. I always knew you were a great friend. I'll call you when I get there okay?" Sam said with sadness in her voice.

"Okay good. Good luck with everything."

"You too. She said.

They hugged again and Sam got into the moving truck with Austin and drove off. Sam waved at Carter and he did the same until their eyes no longer met.


	10. Gas Station Stop

As they were headed out of the valley, they made a short stop at the gas station.

"We just need to fill up before we leave." Austin said. "Do you want anything in the store?"

"I'll go get it while you fill up the moving truck with gas." Sam said as she hopped out of the truck. "Do you want anything?" She asked in her turn.

"Just a pop and maybe a bag of chips to snack on."

"Okay. I'll be right back."

Sam made her way into the small convenience store to pick up some snacks. A few moments later she walked up the cash register and her heart skipped a beat. It was Shelby Cummings. There wasn't any other way to avoid her. She was the cashier.

Sam walked up to the counter and put the snacks on the counter and didn't say anything and neither did Shelby. It was a very awkward moment for the both of them.

Austin looked through the window to see what was taking Sam so long. Then he saw Shelby. He turned around and went straight to the truck and sat there waiting for Sam.

"That' will be 11.97$." Shelby said.

Sam reached into her wallet and took out some cash and handed it to Shelby.

Shelby couldn't resist but be jealous and said, "You know, Sam..." She paused then continued. "He won't be gone long you know."

"What do you mean by that?"

"He'll move back here in no time and see what he's missing." Shelby said bluntly.

"He won't be missing anything, Shelby. He'll be with who he wants to be with, and that is not you."

"We'll see about that."

Sam just had a puzzled look on her face wondering what she meant by that. She didn't say anything. She just grabbed her change and walked out the door to find Austin.

As she walked out, Shelby looked at her every move and said to herself. "It's not over Sam."

Sam got into the truck and she and Austin took off. Their adventure was finally going to begin.


	11. The Drive

Their adventure in the new chapters of their lives was just beginning. High school was finally over. They could finally put the bad experiences behind them, although they did have good ones also.

Sam and Austin were pretty quiet at first. It was more hard on Sam then it was for Austin. Austin finally got to go where he wanted and his dad finally accepted that. Sam, she got to go where she wanted but her friends meant so much to her. It was harder for her to leave them.

As they sat there in the moving truck, tears started strolling down Sam's face. At first Austin didn't know it since he was busy paying attention to the road. A few moments later, he saw Sam wipe her face.

"Sam, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'll be fine."

"Don't worry, things will be great and we'll be able to see your friends more often then you thought."

"Well that would be awfully hard given we're going to be in two different towns." Sam replied.

"Yes, but we'll find a way."Austin replied with a smile.

Austin grabbed Sam's hand and kissed it gently.

The drive lasted several hours but they made the best of it. They sang to songs on the radio, played little games like I Spy, or guessing which type of vehicle they would see next on the road. It was quite fun as it passed the time.

They got in town late enough at night so they decided to leave their things in the moving truck and rent a motel for the night. They were tired from sitting in the vehicle all day.

Sam barely slept. She was tired yet she was very excited to start her new life in university. It would be like a new beginning for her. A way better one. The new adventure of her life was just beginning.


	12. Roomates

It was already eight in the morning and Sam and Austin woke up to the room next door to them in the motel banging on the wall and yelling at each other. An older couple with issues of their own.

Sam and Austin were already starting to run late though because by the time they were ready, they would get to Princeton University just in time to make it for the welcoming and the tour and everything else going on that day. It wasn't a day for class but it was a day to move in, get their books, their student card and meet new people.

Sam and Austin were both overwhelmed at just how many people were actually there. They weren't used to being in a school with that many people. In fact everyone at Princeton made the population of the Valley.

They made their way through the crowd and getting all things they had to get done first. While they were waiting in line to get their student I.D. Card they met a few people there already. Sam had dropped an envelope with all her course information. A nice young man picked it up and handed it to her.

"Ma'am, you dropped this." The young man said with nice manners.

"Thank you. I didn't noticed I dropped it." She said.

"Well it's a good thing I found it then."

"Yes it is." She said and turned to Austin.

Things were silent for a few moments between the young man and Sam and Austin, except for the crowd around them of course. Then, the young man said again.

"Well, I'm Paul by the way." He said.

"I'm Samantha, but you can call me Sam. This is Austin." She said pointing to him.

"Hey there, how's it going?" Austin said.

"Do you know much people here?" Paul asked.

"Not yet. We just got in town last night."Austin replied.

"I got here a few days ago but didn't meet anyone yet. In fact, your the first two."

"Same here, your the first person we met." Said Sam.

They went on talking and getting to know each other a bit. Sam and Austin already agreed to stay in the residence instead of getting their own place so they can meet new people. They couldn't stay together in down together either since one was for guys and the other one for girls. Austin and Paul decided to be roommates. Paul seemed like a trustworthy roommate and Sam agreed.

As the line was getting shorter, so was their waiting time. To pass the time, all three of them were talking to new people trying to get to know more people. Some were nice and others didn't even bother to say a simple hello. There were lots of different people there. Not as friendly as the Valley.

Sam met a girl named Nicole. They decided to be roommates and it seemed to be a perfect match. They had so many things in common and they got along great and yet they just met twenty minutes ago.

For the first two hours of University life, Sam was very happy and so was Austin.


	13. Lunch

It was getting close to lunch time and they all were getting pretty hungry. Luckily, that they the University was giving free lunches. They were having this huge barbecue. They went and grabbed some food and went and sat by a tree where there wasn't so much people. The lawn was crowded with people.

All four of them were eating their lunch while getting to know each other. All of a sudden a football comes landing in the middle of them almost spilling Nicole and Sam's drink. All four looked up to see a guy running to them saying sorry very often.

"It's alright, man." Said Paul.

They all shrugged it off. As the guy was leaving he suddenly turned around.

"Hey, do you guys play football?"

Austin hesitated to say yes since all he could remember was his dad pushing him to do that as a career. He figured that this could be a good way to meet new people though. It wasn't like them to not meet people right away.

"I do." Said Austin.

"I don't" Said Paul.

"Come on, it's easy. We'll show you." Said the other guy. He was quite nice.

"Yeah come on, how else are we going to meet some other people." Said Austin, pulling on Paul's arm trying to get him to stand up and go play some football with the rest of them.

"Alright." Paul said.

So as the guys were leaving to meet the other guys, the girls sat there leaning against the tree and getting to know each other better.

"So, are you from here, Nicole?"

"No, I come from California."

"Oh I really want to go there someday."

"Well maybe during spring break we can take a road trip and we can stay at my parent's beach house."

"That would be awesome." Sam said with lots of joy.

So the girls kept talking about where they were from and what they like to do. They had much more in common then they thought.

About a half hour later, a group of girls came towards them.

"Hey girls." Said one of the girls. She was very tall with long blond curly hair. She was very pretty. You can tell she would be a prom queen type of girl.

"Hi."

"My friend over there was telling me you two know each other." The girl said pointing towards the left.

All of a sudden, there was Shelby Cummings.

Samantha's heart dropped at that moment.

"So, do you know her?" The girl asked.

"No, I don't know her." Said Nicole.

"I do." Sam said in a disappointing tone of voice.

"Well why don't you two join us?" The girl asked.

"Okay, sure." Said Nicole. She was starting to get up when Sam grabbed her hand and pulled her back down.

"Maybe some other time. We're busy here and we're waiting for some people."

"Well then we'll come join you." The girl said and quickly got away before Sam could say another word.

"Why did you say that?" Nicole asked.

"She's a girl that used to date Austin. She really doesn't like me and I really don't like her."

The two of them just sat there watching the other girls grab their stuff and come towards them. Sam looked at Austin quickly and he was still playing football and wasn't aware of anything else going on around them.


	14. The Game

The girls sat down with Sam and Nicole and seemed friendly but with an agenda.

"Hi Sam." Said Shelby.

"Hi girls, this is Nicole." Sam replied.

"Hi." said Nicole.

"Shelby, I thought you didn't get into Princeton."

"Yeah true, but my father always comes through on these things. He wouldn't let his daughter stay in the Valley for the rest of her life."

"Well that's good for you."

It was very awkward at first although after a while, they all were getting along pretty good. A little too good, with the exception of the tense moments between Samantha and Shelby.

----------------------

Austin and Paul were still with the guys playing football. Soon enough they were all tired and in need of a break. They were playing for over an hour.

"That was fun, you two should come play again sometime." Said David, the guy who asked them to play.

"Yeah, definitely." Said Austin.

They were both walking away from the rest of the guys.

"How do you know how to play like that?" Asked Paul with a puzzled look on his face.

"High school." He said.

As they were walking towards the girls, he noticed they made new friends as well.

"Hey girls." Austin and Paul said at the same time.

"Hey, Austin." Said Sam and Nicole as the other girls were looking at him up and down.

"Hey sexy." Said Lee-Anna, the girl that came to see Nicole and Sam before the rest of the girls came along.

Austin just smiled and looked at Sam making sure he knew he noticed her. Although he wouldn't admit it out loud, he thought those girls were very beautiful but he loved Sam and he would for sure let her know that when they got a chance to be alone. He noticed though that Sam seemed a little awkward. All of a sudden, Shelby turned her back away from Austin.

"Hi Austin, I bet you didn't expect to see me here." She said with a big smile on her face.

Austin stood there shocked to see her there.

"No, I didn't expect that at all."

"Come on, give me a hug." She said as she got up and hugged him.

He gave her a hug but made eye contact with Sam. They gave each other a look, like 'what is going on'.

They all sat there and the other guys that played football eventually came around. There was nearly 15 people around the tree by that time. It didn't take them that long to make friends.


	15. Moving In

Before they knew it, it was two hours later. They all went their separate ways except for Sam, Austin, Nicole and Paul.

They all went into the University and went to a desk to get their key to their dormitory. It was in the afternoon and most of the other students have already settled into their rooms. They each registered together. Sam and Nicole in one room and Austin and Paul in another. They weren't able to stay with the opposite sex and they were even separated into two different buildings.

It took them a few hours to help each other bring things into their rooms. It was getting near dinner time.

"So, do you all want to go to a restaurant together?" Nicole and Sam suggested.

"Maybe we should just go see what they have here in the cafeteria or the pub first." Paul said, hoping they would agree. He didn't have much money. He worked so hard to get every single penny he could just to make it to Princeton. His budget would be tight from here until he graduated.

"Yeah, we'll have a feel for the student life here on campus." Austin agreed with Paul.

"Alright," said the girls. "We'll have to go sometime soon though."

They all walked to the main building on campus. There were so many students it was really overwhelming for all of them. They haven't seen so many people. There was more then the population of the town they all came from.

That's one thing that brought this group together so nicely. They had a lot in common. They all lived in small towns, they had the same interests, they worked hard for where they are now.

They went and got their dinner and sat at the only table available that they saw. The table where Shelby was at.

"Can we sit here?" Asked Austin.

Sam and Austin both knew that if Austin weren't around, Shelby would be rude to them.

"Sure, have a seat." Shelby said politely.

Shelby wasn't as mean as people made her out to be. She did however hold a grudge on Sam for stealing Austin away from her. Although, Shelby was all around a nice person, most of the time.

"I'll introduce you to everyone." Shelby said then pointing the left. "Over here we have, Paige, Nancy, Heather and Tanya. And to the right, we have Lee-Anna and Julia. Everyone this is Austin, Sam, Nicole and Paul."

They all sat down and continued the conversation they were having out on the lawn earlier that afternoon.

"So I heard there was a party tonight in the dorms." Lee-Anna said. "You all going to come party too?"

"I didn't hear about it until now." said Nicole.

"You guys don't want to be boring and stay in your rooms all the time do you?" Heather asked.

"We'll be there." Said Austin.

"All of you?" Heather asked again.

Sam looked at Paul and Nicole briefly, "All of us."


	16. Party Time

That night they all went back to Austin and Paul's dorm. Around 6:30 pm, a guy went in the hall and screamed out. "Party Time! Open your doors!"

Paul was a little hesitant on letting stangers come in his dorm and go in his room and possibly take things or brake things so he insisted he stayed there.

"Come on, don't worry about it." Nicole told him.

"Don't worry about it? I don't need my things taken from me. I want to have a good time but it'll always be in the back of my mind. I'm not leaving."

"Then we'll stay here and still let people come in. We'll just keep an eye on them ok?" Austin insisted.

"Ya, you don't want to be known as the dorm hermit now do you?" Sam asked with a smirk on her face. Nicole smiled too.

"No, but this is different." Paul insisted.

"Well then you boys can stay here and me and Nicole will go out and explore. See you boys later." Sam said as she grabbed Nicole's arm. They went in another person's dorm to greet new people.

They got in this room that was way over crowded but they decided to stay there anyways. This dark handsome guy came up behind them.

"Hey ladies. I'm Kevin."

"Hey, I'm Sam and this is Nicole." Sam said first. She knew Nicole was a little more shy then her so she offered to help her out a little.

"I haven't seen you two around her before. You must be freshmans." He said.

"Ya, we are." Nicole brought up the courage to say something. "How about you?"

"Nah, I'm a senior here this year." Kevin said. "Here, let me get you two a drink."

They stood there talking for a good half hour at least.

While that was happening, in Austin and Paul's dorm, Shelby just walked in with her group of girls.

"Hey Austin, nice room." Shelby said.

"Hey girls." Austin said, a little uncomfortable she was around.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Shelby asked Austin.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Alone?" She insisted.

Austin brought her to his room just because that was the only place he could bring her to talk alone.

"What was it that you want to talk to me about?"

Shelby made her way onto his bed. Austin however went and sat on the computer chair right away making it clear to Shelby nothing would happen between them.

"Come sit with me." She told him giving his a desperate look.

"Nah, I'm good here." He said. Insisting again she told him what was it she wanted to tell him.

"Well I just needed to know if you and Sam are that serious or if I still stand a chance. I know she's new and you both are in the honeymoon phase of your "relationship" with her..."

"Shelby..."

"No, listen to me Austin," She interrupted. " Whenever you get bored of her, I'm going to be here for you."

"Ok Shelby." Austin said, annoyed she was waisting his time with this. " but it won't happen so thanks anyways." He said as he got up making sure she knew he wanted to leave the bedroom and go rejoin the crowd.

"We'll see about that" She said as she got up from the bed.

"what did you say? " Austin asked her.

"I didn't say anything." she said

"oh, ok" he said.and they made their way back to find the rest of the group..


	17. Party Time Continuation

When Shelby and Austin joined the rest of the crowd, Tanya was on Paul's lap flirting with him.

You could tell Paul had a few drinks and so did she. Everyone was having a great time.

At the other end of the hall, Sam, Nicole and Kevin were having just as much fun.

"Sam, do you think we should go join the guys?" Nicole asked her.

"Umm, ya sure. They're probably bored over there staying in their dorm."

"They're staying in their own room?" Kevin asked, raising an eyebrow as if thinking that were really uncool.

"Ya, Paul has a little bit of trust issues." Nicole added. "Want to come with?" She added.

"Yeah sure." Kevin added looking at Sam to make sure she was ok with that. Of course she was. She grabed Kevin's arm and pulled him in the right direction.

As they got to the boys dorm room, Nicole stopped at the door blocking anyone from going in or out.

"Nicole, you ok? Let me get in too or is it too full?" Sam asked her.

"Oh, sorry, it's not that though." Nicole asked.

"Then what is it?" Sam asked.

Nicole couldn't say a word. She just looked at Paul and Tanya. Tanya was still on his lap and put her arms around his neck and was whispering in his ear. Nicole just pointed at them and walked away down the hall.

Sam took a quick look and then went to go see Nicole and brought her back to the room. She didn't know Nicole had such interest in Paul, but now that Sam knew, she wasn't going to let Tanya win over Paul. In fact, she saw Shelby there too talking to Austin. She knew she wasn't going to let Shelby take Austin back. She loved Austin way too much. She knew Austin loved her too but Shelby had something over Sam. That was getting a man to like her and want her.

After convinving Nicole to go back to the dorm, Sam had introduced Kevin to Austin, Paul and Shelby and her friends as well.

The party lasted many many hours until there was no drinks left and it was getting really early in the morning. It was past 4 oclock am. The first night in college was over and it was well worth it.


	18. Day After The Party

Morning came quicker then any of the student body expected. The party lasted longer then anyone anticipated but to them, it was well worth it. That is until class was about to begin.

Sam and Austin met up in the loby of the college campus and decided to grab a coffee together and eat breakfast before either one of their classes would begin.

"So what did you think about last night?" Austin asked, yanning. It was a long night for him. Shelby left with her friends and so Sam decided it was safe and she left to her dorm with Nicole for a night's sleep. One thing Sam didn't know was that Shelby returned to Austin's room half an hour later. That's all Austin remembered. He didn't know what happened after that or even when Shelby left.

"It was a lot of fun." She said, grabbing her coffee and chocolate chip muffin. "I met a few new people. Kevin is a nice guy. Seems like you would make great friends with him."

After a long pause Sam looked at Austin. "Austin, are you with me?"

"Sorry. I'm so tired." He said, putting his hand over his mouth before he yanned again.

"What time did you go to bed?" She asked.

"I don't remember." He said and took a sip of his coffee.

"Well I got to get going. Class starts in fifteen minutes for me. I'll see you later?" Before Austin could reply anything, Sam gave Austin a quick kiss on the lips and walked quickly down the hall.

Austin went and sat down at a nearest table and tried hard to remember what happened after Shelby arrived at his room. Nothing came to mind.

Shelby walked by and smiled sweetly at Austin. She grabbed herself a coffee and sat down with Austin. "How are you?" She asked.

"Tired." He said after a pause. He looked at her and opened his mouth but then quickly shut it. He didn't remember a thing from last night and didn't want to sound rude to Shelby.

"What?" She asked after noticing his action.

"Nothing."

"Tell me." She insisted.

"I just... I don't remember much of what happened last night. You know. After you showed up again by yourself."

Shelby sat there and didn't say a thing. She was trying to come up with something quickly. She didn't remember much either but she was going to use it to her advantage for the simple fact that he didn't remember.

"I do. I'll never forget." She said, glancing at him across the table, giving him a smile.

"What happened? I need to know." He said.

"Think about it." She said. "Me, you, alone in your room. What do you think we did?"

Austin got up quickly and said he was late for class and took off down the hall opposit of where Sam had gone. Shelby sat there with a grin. No way was she going to give Austin up without a fight after all she's been through because of Sam.


	19. Break Up

Austin finally caught up to Sam in the lobby. Sam went and sat at one of the tables where they would sit and drink coffee every morning together. Austin went and sat down beside her but didn't say anything for a few minutes.

He wasn't sure what Sam had heard or what had happened because she just got to his door. So he wanted to wait until Sam said something. When she wasn't saying anything, he decided he would start the conversation.

"Sam, why did you give me back the ring I gave you?"

"Oh please, like you don't know."

"Nothing happened between me and Shelby last night I promise you." He said in his defense.

"You and Shelby?" Sam was confused. She didn't know anything about him being with Shelby last night. " You were with Shelby last night?!"

"Isn't that why your upset?" He asked confused.

"Well _now_ it's part of it." She said. "What happened with you and Shelby last night?"

"Nothing. She came over once everyone left and we talked. I don't remember much of it. Paul told me I just talked to her. That's it."

"Well if you don't remember, how could you be so sure?" She was getting angrier by the second.

"I am sure. I would never want to hurt you. I love you."

"Sure you do." She said sarcastically. "That's why you told everyone the secrets you told me you would never reveal to anyone. Smooth. Real smooth, Austin."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know, the things about my past. You told me you would never let anyone know. That this whole University experience would be a new beginning."

"I didn't say a thing to anyone. Sam you have to believe me." He reached for her hand but she pushed him away.

"Don't touch me!" She got up quickly and put her arms around herself. "You and Shelby? How could you?!"

"I didn't do anything with her." He said as he got up and grabbed her arm.

"Let go of me and leave me alone!" She pushed Austin away and walked away. "We're through."


End file.
